When the World Ends
by kerianne
Summary: 4 dragons. 1 stage. Karaoke night. *snicker*


Author:

Author: Kerianne _  
_Email: [mpike@froggernet.com][1]_  
_Title: When the World Ends_  
_Spoilers: None _  
_Warnings: Fluff. OOC. And, oh yeah, shounen-ai and suggestive lyrics, but if you like X, I'm gonna guess that sort of thing doesn't bother you. ^_~_  
_Author's Notes: Neither characters nor song belong to me. Characters are CLAMP's, and song belongs to the Dave Matthews Band. I apologize to all involved for using their products for such a fluffy piece of junk as this fic, as well as to the readers, unless you find this as amusing as I did. Which is not likely. Extreme liberties have been taken with the characters here, as well as plotline, and such minor details as the fact that the Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth are mortal enemies, and would be more likely to kill each other than sit there and watch each other sing karaoke. *sigh* Just read the fic, hehe.

When the World Ends

an "X/1999" songfic by Kerianne H.

"If this is another one of Sorata's tricks..." Arashi's eyes narrowed in premature irritation. After all, even if this ridiculous affair wasn't Sorata's doing, he was sure to do something else to annoy her in the near future.

Seiichirou hid an amused smile, and forced down the instinct to say "Young love, how cute" or something else that would bring the younger woman's considerable wrath upon him. "Calm down, Arashi." He took a sip of his drink. "Nothing terrible has happened so far... maybe someone just thought we needed a relaxing night out."

"Or maybe this is some kind of trap organized by the Dragons of Earth," Subaru murmured, moodily toying with the edge of the tablecloth. His expressive green eyes reflected his extreme discomfort-- there was probably nowhere he wanted to be less than sitting in the middle of a crowded, smoky, dimly lit restaurant. He, along with Arashi, Seiichirou, and Yuzuriha, had recieved an anonymous invitation to enjoy a free dinner, complete with directions to the restaurant. After some discussion, they had decided to go, if only to see what it was all about and who had set it up. The others had spent quite a while convincing Subaru to come, and he'd finally allowed himself to be dragged along.

"_I'm_ having fun," Yuzuriha announced to no one in particular. "I think this was a great idea. Whoever set this up, it was very sweet of them... But I wonder why they didn't invite everyone else?"

"Probably because they were the ones who planned it. I'm still waiting for Sorata to show up and propose to me, or something silly like that," Arashi grumbled.

"Ooh, a show!" Yuzuriha's squeal directed everyone's attention to the front of the restaurant, only a few feet away from their table, where heavy red curtains were being drawn aside to reveal... A stage. Set up with four microphones, and what looked like--

"A karaoke machine?" Arashi looked horrified.

Seiichirou gave a tolerant, vaguely amused smile. "Well, this is interesting..."

"Oh, no... If Sorata gets up there and does one thing to embarrass me, I will kill him..."

"You know, you talk about him an awful lot," Yuzu pointed out innocently. A deadly glare from the priestess shut her up quickly.

Before anyone could say anything more, a smooth, almost jazz-like intro began to play, and the lights in the restaurant dimmed even more. A spotlight came out of nowhere to illuminate the stage. The voices of the crowd in the restaurant fell to a hush, then stopped altogether. And then, the silence was broken by a single, powerful male voice.

"When the world ends, collect your things, you're coming with me...."

All eyes were fixed on the stage, waiting to see the source of the strong baritone. The spotlight dimmed... a shadowed figure dressed in a black suit appeared... then the light returned full force and the man lifted his head.

Eliciting a gasp from each of the four Dragons of Heaven.

"He's a Dragon of Earth!" Arashi hissed. "Kusanagi, or something like that..." She exchanged worried glances with Seiichirou. Subaru remained impassive, although his eyes narrowed somewhat and his fingers tightened on the tablecloth. As for Yuzuriha... The younger girl looked nervous, but not in the same way the others did. There was a kind of exhiliration behind her anxiety, a strange brightness to her eyes as she watched the man on stage.

"When the world ends, you tuckle up yourself with me... watch it as the stars disappear to nothing..." Kusanagi made his way to the edge of the stage, microphone clutched in his hand. He looked straight at Yuzuriha and winked. "The day the world is over, we'll be lying in bed...."

None of the other Dragons of Heaven at the table noticed that Yuzu was suddenly blushing madly-- they were too busy anticipating an enemy ambush. Luckily for the nearly-nosebleeding girl, Kusanagi then stepped back into a backup-singer position

"I'm gonna rock you like a baby when the cities fall..." A different voice, not as deep, but more heartfelt and enthusiastic, took over. Kusanagi stood aside to allow the second man to make his entrance. He was wearing fitted jeans, a black leather jacket, and a huge grin. And staring directly at Arashi.

"We will rise as the buildings crumble, float there and watch it all..." Sorata's voice soared, showing surprisingly good vocal control.

"I will kill him," Arashi muttered, face flaming nearly as red as Yuzu's had been.

"Amidst the burning, we'll be churning.... You know, love will be our wings..." His grin widened, and he reached the hand that was not holding the microphone out toward the shrine maiden.

"I _will_ kill him."

"The passion rises up from the ashes," he sang with a smirk, "when the world ends..."

"I'm _definitely_ going to kill him."

Finishing his solo, Sorata took his place beside Kusanagi, still grinning at Arashi. Both Seiichirou and Subaru looked somewhat worried at this point.

"When the world ends, you're gonna come with me..."

The third voice was unmistakably female. Subaru relaxed.

As they watched, a familiar redhead dressed in a slinky, low-cut crimson dress slid fluidly to the front of the stage and took the third microphone. "We're gonna be crazy, like a river bends...."

Everyone else at the table stared at Seiichirou.

"What?" The windmaster gave a nervous smile, not quite having caught on yet.

"We're going to float through the criss cross of the mountains, watch them fade to nothing," Karen purred, casting a heavy-lidded stare into the audience. "When the world ends... you know that's what's happening now... I'm going to be there with you somehow, ohhhhh..." On the last line, she pointed in the direction of the table where the four Dragons of Heaven were seated.

Everyone looked at Seiichirou again.

"_What?_ I'm married!" he protested rather weakly, keeping his eyes fixed on Karen. His expression was somewhere between disappointment and relief when she ended her solo with a wink and a kiss blown into the crowd, and moved back beside Sorata.

Subaru was beginning to squirm in his seat, casting wide-eyed glances toward the door as if calculating the quickest way out. No one seemed to notice his discomfort, as Yuzuriha was busy exchanging flirty glances with Kusanagi, Arashi was plotting the most interesting and gratifying method of murdering Sorata, and Seiichirou was trying his best to subtly stare at Karen, failing the subtle part miserably.

"I'm going to tie you up like a baby in a carriage car..." 

Everyone started paying attention again. The voice was male... dark, purring, and incredibly sexy. All the color drained out of Subaru's face, and he attempted to hide under the table.

The owner of the voice came slowly out from backstage, revealing a tall, dark-haired figure dressed in a long black coat and dark sunglasses.

"Hey, isn't that..." Arashi began.

"... the Sakurazukamori?" Seiichirou finished.

"Why's Subaru under the table?" Yuzuriha asked, leaning over to peer down at him.

"Your legs don't work cause you want me so, you just lie spread to the wall..." The man's voice was perfectly suited to the suggestive lyrics, somehow managing to bring the words to life in everyone's mind. Suddenly he paused in his singing, noticing that his chosen target was nowhere to be found. With a sly smirk, he jumped down from the stage and sauntered over to the table that was currently serving as Subaru's hiding place.

"The love you got is surely all the love that I would ever need," he crooned with a slightly sardonic delivery. Leaning over, he lifted the tablecloth, reached an arm beneath the table, and hauled Subaru out, singing the entire time. "I'm going to take you by my side and love you tall, til the world ends..."  
The younger onmyouji jerked himself out of Seishirou's grasp and glared fiercely at the older man. Meanwhile, the other three singers were following the Sakurazukamori's lead, coming down off the stage to stand beside their chosen targets. 

Kusanagi got down onto his knees in front of Yuzuriha, taking the young girl's hand, and delivered his next lines in a soft, heartfelt voice. "Oh, but don't you worry about a thing.... no, 'cause I got you here with me.... just you and me, floating through the empty, empty.... just you and me...." Yuzuriha was grinning from ear to ear, ignoring the confused looks the couple was getting from Arashi and Seiichirou.  
Sorata, noticing that Arashi's attention was diverted, leaned over her. "Oh, when the world ends, we'll be burning one..." he sang in a sexy growl. Arashi smacked him.  
"When the world ends, we'll be sweet makin love..." Karen half-whispered, having planted herself in Seiichirou's lap and singing almost directly into his ear. She had to force down the urge to giggle at the adorably flustered look on the wind-master's face. 

All four voices suddenly rose in harmony. "Oh, you know when the world ends, I'm going to take you aside and say, let's watch it fade away, fade away.... And the world's done, ours just begun..."

"We're gonna dive into the emptiness, we'll be swimming," Kusanagi sang.

Sorata, ego slightly wounded from Arashi's slap, nevertheless belted out his solo with just as much enthusiasm as usual. "I'm going to walk you through the pathless roads... I'm going to take you to the top of the mountain that's no longer there...."

Karen, sliding her free arm around Seiichirou's shoulders, could hardly deliver her line without cracking up. "I'm going to take you to bed and love you, I swear, like the end is near..."

".... _Karen!_" Seiichirou looked rather scandalized, blushing profusely. The fire mistress silenced him with a finger on his lips, allowing Seishirou to take over the song.  
"I'm going to take you up to.... I'm going to take you, down on you..." The assassin had positioned himself behind Subaru, so close that Subaru was nearly leaning on him, and was sliding his hand slowly down the Sumeragi's chest as he purred out the lyrics to the song. "I'm going to hold you like an angel, angel..." Subaru's eyes were wide and his face was pale, but he was no longer attempting to push the Sakurazukamori away.

"I'm going to love you... I'm going to love you, when the world ends..." As the song increased in intensity before the big finale, four voices blended once again. Each singer was looking straight into the eyes of his or her chosen. "I'm going to hold you..."

Abruptly the four singers stepped away and stood together at the edge of the table to deliver the last line in perfect harmony, reaching out towards the person they were singing to. "When the world is over, we'll just be beginning..."

There was a moment of pure silence after the last notes of the song faded out. Then, all at once, the restaurant erupted into applause. Yuzuriha applauded wildly, still grinning insufferably. Arashi and Subaru looked murderous, and Seiichirou looked as though he was doing his best not to pass out, although he managed to get in a few polite claps.

A moment later, the singers had rejoined their objects of affection. Yuzuriha and Kusanagi wasted no time in getting involved in a fairly chaste but affectionate lip-lock.

* * * * *

"Just wait until we get home, Sorata..." Arashi hissed, glowering.

The monk looked wounded. "You don't appreciate all the effort we put into this for you, Miss? I'm hurt..."

Arashi smacked him again.

Sorata pouted, brown eyes suddenly growing large, wobbly, and increasingly puppy-dog-like. Arashi remained stone-faced for a moment or two, then sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose it was _slightly_ cute," she said begrudgingly. "In a pathetic, desperate sort of way."

Sorata beamed. "I love you too, Miss! Hmm, would you prefer a wedding in the spring, or in the fall?"

The shrine maiden groaned. "What do I have to do to shut you up?"

"Kiss me," the young monk said rakishly.

Arashi glared at him for a moment. Then the thought occured to her how shocked and thrown off-balance he would be if she actually _did_ kiss him. Not that she wanted to or anything, but... if it would get rid of him once and for all, she supposed she'd have to _force_ herself to do so. Nodding resolutely at her own logic, she threw caution to the wind and locked her lips with his.

* * * * *

"Subaru-kun..."

"......"

"Come now, Subaru-kun, you're not still mad at me over that silly business with your sister, are you?"

"......"

"Oh, you don't feel like talking, hmm?" With a predatory grin, Seishirou pulled Subaru down onto his lap and proceeded to pretty much shove his tongue down the Sumeragi's throat.

* * * * *

"Er, Karen-san?"

"Yes?" Karen purred in a husky voice, then gave up the act, collapsing into giggles.

"Uhhh..." Seiichirou continued to blush. "... You do know I'm married, right?"

Karen lifted her head and gave him a bright smile and a nod. "Yep. I suppose you want me to get out of your lap now, then?"

The wind-master thought it over for a moment. "Ahhh... Nope, you know what, you're fine right where you are."

She grinned knowingly, then glanced around at the three other couples, each of them in one stage or another of making out. "Aww, look at them, isn't that cute?" Her eyes rested briefly on Subaru and Seishirou. "Okay, so I wouldn't really use cute' to describe _them_, but Subaru looks more relaxed than he has all evening, anyway..."

"Mmm." Seiichirou nodded, then regarded her briefly. "We look pretty out of place, don't we-- mmph!"

Karen didn't need much more of an invitation.

* * * * *

The four couples remained in the restaurant until a waiter came over and basically told them, in slightly more polite terms, to get a room. Which most of them ended up doing. And all things considered, Karaoke Night was a rousing success for all involved....

The End

   [1]: mailto:mpike@froggernet.com



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